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Jihad in Jordan

(New York Sun) Editorial - Jordan has its strategic problems, surrounded, as it is, by hostile Saudis to the south, Palestinian Arabs on the West Bank, and Syrians to the north. The current king, Abdullah II, has at times shown good intentions as an ally of the West. Abdullah recently canceled a virulently anti-Semitic television series that had been scheduled to air during Ramadan. The king has maintained a peace with Israel. But until America works with the forces of freedom and democracy to create change for the better in Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the West Bank, Jordan will be a dangerous place. There's discussion of writing off Jordan's Hashemite monarchy and letting the Palestinian Arabs take over. But the Jordanian monarchy isn't particularly high up on our list of regimes that need changing; as far as rulers-for-life go, the Jordanian kings have been more benevolent than the Saudis or the Assads of Syria or Arafat or Mubarak or Khamenei in Iran. If America and Israel want a king in Jordan and a friendly one, they will need to manage the rest of the region in a way that makes it possible for him to survive.
2005-11-11 00:00:00
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